The EIGCA's statement on the Environment

By Mike Wood – Chairman, EIGCA Environment Committee

The preparation of an environmental policy which our members could support has been the focus of the work of the Environment Committee over the past 12 months, and was a key topic of discussion at this year’s AGM. This article gives a brief introduction to the policy; why we need it, how it came about, what its aims and objectives are, and how we plan to develop and build on it in the future.

There have been two main driving forces behind the need for an environmental policy. Firstly and most obviously perhaps, EIGCA, in common with most other responsible, professional organisations, recognises the reality of environmental change. Continued human pressures on the environment driven by rapidly expanding economies have meant that a sustainable approach to development is now genuinely regarded as the only option. As a primary example, climate change has emerged in recent months as one of the global political issues of the 21st Century, with governments worldwide finally beginning to give it meaningful consideration. Secondly, EIGCA members have become used to working within a veritable maze of environmental legislation with ever more directives, statutes and regulations, and it was felt important both to set out a clear statement of the Institute’s position, and to give our members guidance on the way forward.

Purposes

In essence what the policy is all about is “setting our stall out” in relation to the environment, outlining the broad philosophy and fundamental principles that we as an organisation are prepared to support and promote. EIGCA members are justly proud of what golf course architects have already contributed towards environmental sustainability and the policy provides us with an opportunity to emphasise this, and explain what we stand for as a profession in the environmental field.

Within the golf development industry, architects undoubtedly play the key rôle in bringing together the often competing demands of economic necessity and environmental constraints, and at the same time realising a quality product for our clients. We see it very much as a positive, creative rôle; the EIGCA Environmental policy will seek to highlight this rôle and define it more closely, and also show how crucial it will be in realising to the full all the positive environmental opportunities which golf development presents.

By preparing and publicising an environmental policy we will also show our commitment to supporting and working in partnership with other golf organisations who, like us, are keen to show leadership in this field. Through our work with Golf Environment Europe we will be demonstrating our solidarity with organisations including the Federation of European Golf Greenkeeper Associations, the European Golf Association, the European Tour, the European Golf Course Owners Association, and the European Commission.

The approach taken was that the document should be as concise as possible - something which could be clearly and immediately grasped by professionals right across the industry. The core statement therefore needed to be backed up with more substantial detail, and this will be provided at two levels: by a relatively brief annex, giving an overview of the main environmental issues faced by members, and by a comprehensive guidance document, which will address good practice in new golf course development. Preparatory work on the latter, provisionally entitled Environmental Guidelines for Golf Course Development, has begun in partnership with Golf Environment Europe.

Just a brief word on what the policy is not. It is very definitely not the purpose of the policy to attempt to constrain members’ professional choice, or their creativity as designers, or to burden them with any additional obligations beyond what is already the environmental law in their respective countries. On the contrary it is a positive document. As noted above, one of its key aims is to highlight the positive contribution we as architects can make to sustainable golf development.

Content

The heart of the document will be a statement outlining our broad environmental philosophy, together with five key principles which govern our approach to the environmental facets of golf design.

The philosophy section is short and sweet – it makes just two main points

• Firstly, that we believe part of good golf course design is to create a golf course in harmony with its environment. That’s not the same thing as saying that if a golf course is in harmony with the environment it necessarily represents a good design – clearly there’s much more to architecture than environmental design. It’s also worth pointing out that design is clearly not the only factor influencing the sustainability of a golf development - planning, construction, and management are also major factors. But design is fundamental, and architects have perhaps the most important role, in that they can also influence planning, construction and management, usually as part of a design team, even when they do not have formal legal responsibility for these aspects.
• Secondly, in parallel with other organisations’ environment policies, we’ve tried to define sustainability as it applies to our own work; what we as architects understand by sustainable golf course architecture. A key concept will be “best environmental fit” – implying that we take account of all relevant aspects and seek the best overall solution. Economic and social aspects are now included as standard in government policy definitions of sustainable development and we believe it is essential that we present ourselves as rounded professionals, as architects – not merely golf design technicians.

The principles are an attempt to capture on about one side of A4 the essence of environmental design as a process, and how architects approach that process. Covering Site, Environment, Design, Construction, and Management, they will emphasise our belief that true golf course architecture means taking a broad visionary perspective, putting the golf course in its wider context, in contrast to a blinkered view focussed only on the playing areas.

In the annex covering Environmental Issues, we will briefly introduce a number of pressing environmental issues which our members face on a regular basis, and state our position on how we believe they should be addressed. Currently, the six issues to be included are Biodiversity, Climate Change, Energy Consumption, Landscape and Cultural Heritage, Pollution Prevention, and Water Resources.

Future Action Plan

Also included in the document is a section giving a link to a future action plan on the environment, which will cover the following areas:

• New Development Guidance: as already noted above, the preparation of a detailed framework document providing environmental guidance on new golf course development;
• Best Practice Case Studies: facilitating the compilation of a database/portfolio of demonstration sites/projects illustrating best environmental practice in design and management;
• Education: continuing to ensure that our Diploma and Continuing Professional Development programmes are underpinned by environmental best practice;
• Communication: continuing to develop and promote the principles of environmental sustainability through the work of our Environment and PR and Promotion Committees.

Next Steps

The draft policy statement was presented and debated at the AGM in April 2006, both in the main CPD session and in the round-table workshops, and was generally very well-received. The revised text incorporating feedback is to be circulated to members for further comment before being finalised by Council later this year. It is intended to publicise the completed policy via a press release; it will also be available on the EIGCA web site.

This article first appeared in the Institute's Yearbook for 2006-2007.